Memory prices have plummeted this year, particularly for the MacBook Pro.

One reason that Apple is so profitable is that Apple doesn’t pass along drops in component costs. Very profitable in the short run, but it has long turned me away from Apple for any kind of hardware upgrade; paying exorbitant prices for a commodity should make anyone feel foolish, and feeds the “Macs are expensive” dogma with the cold hard truth of cash.

MacBook Pro memory (applies to iMac also)

For a new MacBook Pro, Apple still charges $400 to upgrade from 4GB to 8GB. Didn’t get that 8GB memory initially? Do not pass Go, pay $600. Any premium vendor can and should charge a premium, but a 340% premium is indefensible ($600 vs $135).

The OWC price graphed below is for an 8GB kit; you can also get a rebate on your old memory ($32 as I write this). So the true cost for OWC memory is even lower than shown, about $102 for 8GB.

There are many 3rd-party memory vendors, but OWC tests their memory in every model of every Mac they sell it for in their test lab. I’ve bought all my memory from OWC, and have 100GB or so now in various Macs.

It’s a darn shame that the MacBook Pro maxes-out at 8GB, or at these prices, I’d stuff 32GB in mine.

MacBook Pro memory prices 2010, 8GB kit (2 X 4GB, 1066MHz)

MacPro memory

While not as steep a drop (yet) as MacBook Pro memory, the price is on trend to be less than half what it was in May. Not shown, 8GB modules have also experienced a sharp drop in the past 4 months.

I’d have shown what Apple charges in this graph, but it’s so far off the chart it’s just too awkward: $1275 upcharge for a new Mac, or $1500 if bought later.

Read that again: you can pay Apple $1275 or $1500 for 12GB, or you can pay $270 at OWC ($280 for 1333MHz). I wonder what the government chooses when spending tax dollars.